La Costa Brava lies along the coast of Cataluña, extending north from Barcelona. It's absolutely beautiful. Quaint little towns dot the coast, and there are plenty of gorgeous beaches. I was lucky enough to spend my weekend enjoying the Mediterranean.
Saturday: I took a day trip with my program to Figueres and Cadaques. Figueres is about an hour outside of Barcelona and is where Salvador Dalí was born. He built a museum there in an old theater. He considered the museum to be one of his greatest works. The museum itself is a work of art. Dalí wanted people to get lost in his museum, so it's a bit of a labyrinth. Also, he knew that if people saw a line they would get in it. So all over the place there are places where you can make lines. It's a little bit bizarre, but then again so was the whole museum. Anyone who knows Dalí, knows he was a fan of optical illusions. This is a painting of a nude woman, but far away it's Abraham Lincoln.
The reason for a painting of good ol' Abe? Well he was killed in a theater, and the museum is an old theater. The museum also has the Mae West room. The whole room is Mae West--and then you walk up these stairs and look through a glass and you can see that all the pieces make up Mae West. I'm not the biggest fan of Dalí, but his stuff is interesting. It's a cool museum, and I highly recommend it.
We continued on from Figueres to Cadaques, the cutest little fishing town about 2 hours outside of Barcelona. I felt like I was in another world. All the buildings were white and the towns hugs the Mediterranean in a U shape. The ocean was super blue, contrasting the white houses. We had lunch by the water and then walked around. There were a bunch of little tents selling all kinds of goodies--a million varieties of olives, wine, bread, jewelry. I picked up some olive spread that is superb. It was nice just sitting on the beach, albeit rocky, and enjoying the sea. Unfortunately, we had to make our way back to stormy Barcelona, but it was a relaxing afternoon.
Sunday: My roommates and I are super lucky to have such an awesome RA. Her parents have a beach house about a half hour outside of Barcelona, and invited us for the day to enjoy the beach and some tasty paella. It was absolutely perfect weather, and a nice break from all the rain and gray. We arrived and promptly made our way to the beach. The sun felt so wonderful. The water was chilly (I don't know why I always thought the Mediterranean was warm), but two of my roommates and I got in anyways. It was cold at first, but after those first 5 minutes, the ocean water felt good. As I sat on the beach, watching the waves go in an out, I sat in wonderment of how the ocean is what connects us all, and water is what keeps us all alive. The sea I was seeing was the same sea that someone else in the S. of France was seeing. It's the same sea that melts into the Pacific--that reaches all the way across the world. Water is beautiful--in its plenitude and scarcity.
After enjoying the beach, we headed back to the house, where Laura (our RA) has ordered us some delicious paella from a tienda close by. I had yet to try to some really yummy paella, and was glad to finally have some. It was the perfect meal for our perfect day spent in the sun. After the paella, we lounged by the pool, went swimming, and took in more sun. All in all, a perfect day.
Time works so funny here. It stays light for so long that it never feels late. Then I look at my watch and realize how much time has actually passed. The summer solstice is coming up. The Spaniards celebrate it as San Juan. It's supposed to be one crazy party, plus we get the day off school (yes!).
I'm off to bed. It's past 1 am, and I have class at 9 (really, what was I thinking?).
Hasta luego.
Saturday: I took a day trip with my program to Figueres and Cadaques. Figueres is about an hour outside of Barcelona and is where Salvador Dalí was born. He built a museum there in an old theater. He considered the museum to be one of his greatest works. The museum itself is a work of art. Dalí wanted people to get lost in his museum, so it's a bit of a labyrinth. Also, he knew that if people saw a line they would get in it. So all over the place there are places where you can make lines. It's a little bit bizarre, but then again so was the whole museum. Anyone who knows Dalí, knows he was a fan of optical illusions. This is a painting of a nude woman, but far away it's Abraham Lincoln.
The reason for a painting of good ol' Abe? Well he was killed in a theater, and the museum is an old theater. The museum also has the Mae West room. The whole room is Mae West--and then you walk up these stairs and look through a glass and you can see that all the pieces make up Mae West. I'm not the biggest fan of Dalí, but his stuff is interesting. It's a cool museum, and I highly recommend it.We continued on from Figueres to Cadaques, the cutest little fishing town about 2 hours outside of Barcelona. I felt like I was in another world. All the buildings were white and the towns hugs the Mediterranean in a U shape. The ocean was super blue, contrasting the white houses. We had lunch by the water and then walked around. There were a bunch of little tents selling all kinds of goodies--a million varieties of olives, wine, bread, jewelry. I picked up some olive spread that is superb. It was nice just sitting on the beach, albeit rocky, and enjoying the sea. Unfortunately, we had to make our way back to stormy Barcelona, but it was a relaxing afternoon.
Sunday: My roommates and I are super lucky to have such an awesome RA. Her parents have a beach house about a half hour outside of Barcelona, and invited us for the day to enjoy the beach and some tasty paella. It was absolutely perfect weather, and a nice break from all the rain and gray. We arrived and promptly made our way to the beach. The sun felt so wonderful. The water was chilly (I don't know why I always thought the Mediterranean was warm), but two of my roommates and I got in anyways. It was cold at first, but after those first 5 minutes, the ocean water felt good. As I sat on the beach, watching the waves go in an out, I sat in wonderment of how the ocean is what connects us all, and water is what keeps us all alive. The sea I was seeing was the same sea that someone else in the S. of France was seeing. It's the same sea that melts into the Pacific--that reaches all the way across the world. Water is beautiful--in its plenitude and scarcity.
After enjoying the beach, we headed back to the house, where Laura (our RA) has ordered us some delicious paella from a tienda close by. I had yet to try to some really yummy paella, and was glad to finally have some. It was the perfect meal for our perfect day spent in the sun. After the paella, we lounged by the pool, went swimming, and took in more sun. All in all, a perfect day.
Time works so funny here. It stays light for so long that it never feels late. Then I look at my watch and realize how much time has actually passed. The summer solstice is coming up. The Spaniards celebrate it as San Juan. It's supposed to be one crazy party, plus we get the day off school (yes!).
I'm off to bed. It's past 1 am, and I have class at 9 (really, what was I thinking?).
Hasta luego.
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